Cleveland Peace Action supports the freedom of students to express their First Amendment rights for any cause and we applaud their dedication and support of the Palestinian people in the midst of the genocide in Gaza.
Some of us are old enough to remember the horrors of mixing young green National guard shooters with protesting students. I will never forget the day – May 4, 1970. Shots fired at Kent State. I was 10, my parents were listening to the evening news as usual. All of the sudden their faces went ashen. Tears formed in my dad’s eyes. It was a moment that galvanized the United States of America and made us wish we had listened . . . to our better angels . . . to our smartest leaders . . . to our students pleading for peace. Maybe we need to listen better these days as well.
University students across the country are increasingly making their voices heard on the Palestinian genocide. Bernie Sanders is calling it Ethnic Cleansing. President Biden is telling Netanyahu to put on the brakes. Not since the protests of the Vietnam War in the 70’s has US foreign policy generated such passionate and intense debate on campuses.
The dozens of protests have largely been peaceful, thoughtful and well-organized, and often consist of a diverse coalition of student groups, including pro-Palestinian and Jewish organizations. There have been very few reported incidents of demonstrators being anti-semitic or even anti-Israel. Protestors have focused on pushing for a cease-fire of the Israeli war on Gaza and on the rights of Palestinians. This does not make them anti-Jewish or anti-semitic.
Our US Constitution protects free speech, and our democracy depends on exchanging ideas in public forums, like on university campuses. This is a vital part of civic education. Universities are bastions of this essential individual freedom, where students are encouraged to explore, question and find their voice on all issues impacting our society. The crackdown on cease-fire demonstrations on university campuses by both civil and university authorities is censorship and violates First Amendment rights. The courage of students in the midst of this repression is energizing and in many cases has helped expand the demonstrations both on their campuses, encouraging their professors and others to participate, and to the larger communities.
Cleveland Peace Action supports the freedom of students to express their First Amendment rights for any cause and we applaud their dedication and support of the Palestinian people in the midst of the genocide in Gaza. CPA further supports students’ demands that their schools divest themselves of investments in Israel. Finally, CPA supports amnesty be given protesters against the genocide who have not committed any violent acts.
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